The 27th Goff Arbitration Lecture by The Hon Chief Justice James Allsop AO: “Independence and Apparent Bias: Judicial and Arbitral Confidence: Halliburton v Chubb”

by Judy Xu

Chief Justice James Allsop AO

CityU School of Law, in cooperation with Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and Fangda Partners, held the 27th Goff Arbitration Lecture on 3 November 2022. This year, we were honoured to have Chief Justice James Allsop AO, Federal Court of Australia, as the speaker to give a lecture entitled “Independence and Apparent Bias: Judicial and Arbitral Confidence: Halliburton v Chubb”. More than 100 participants attended the lecture at HKIAC and via Zoom.

The lecture kicked off with the welcome speech by Professor LIN Feng (Acting Dean and Professor, School of Law, CityU). Professor Lin explained the background and objectives of the Goff Arbitration Lecture. He also introduced the speaker and thanked all the participants for their support for the lecture over the years.

Lin Feng CJ2
 

In his lecture, Chief Justice Allsop discussed the decision of the United Kingdom Supreme Court case of Halliburton Co v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd. According to Chief Justice Allsop, judicial dispute resolution is the application of a form of state or governmental power by the judiciary which should be marked by independence and impartiality. The lecture explored how the application of relevant tests may be seen to underpin such state institutionalised integrity. The lecture also explored the similarities and differences that may be seen in the approach to apparent bias in the judicial and arbitral environments; and whether more demanding requirements for disclosure strengthen or weaken overall institutional integrity of both systems.

CJ cocktail
 

After the lecture, the participants raised questions and interacted with Chief Justice Allsop in the Q&A session moderated by Mr KAPLAN Neil CBE QC SBS (International Arbitrator, Arbitration Chambers Hong Kong). Then, Dr TO Christopher (Adjunct Professor and Master of Laws in Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Programme Director, School of Law, CityU) closed the lecture and thanked Chief Justice Allsop for delivering an insightful lecture. Finally, Mr Howard CHAN (Partner, Fangda Partners) welcomed attendees to the cocktail reception.


Chinese Title
第二十七屆戈夫仲裁講座: 澳洲聯邦法院首席大法官闡釋「獨立性與偏頗觀感:對司法與仲裁的信任:以Halliburton v Chubb案為例」
News Date
2022年11月17日
Chinese Body

Chief Justice James Allsop AO

2022年11月3日,城大法律學院與香港國際仲裁中心及方達律師事務所合作,在香港國際仲裁中心舉行了第二十七屆戈夫仲裁講座。今年,學院很榮幸邀請到澳洲聯邦法院首席大法官James Allsop AO主講「獨立性與偏頗觀感:對司法與仲裁的信任:以Halliburton v Chubb案為例」。講座吸引了100餘人到場或在線參與。

講座由城大法律學院署理院長林峰教授致歡迎辭揭開序幕。林教授解釋了戈夫仲裁講座的背景和目的,亦介紹了首席大法官並感謝所有參與者對講座一直以來的支持。

Lin Feng CJ2
 

首席大法官 Allsop 在講座中討論了英國最高法院對 Halliburton Co v Chubb Bermuda Insurance Ltd 一案的判決。他認為,司法爭議解決是司法機關運用國家或政府權力的一種形式,應當具有獨立、公正的特點。是次講座探討了如何看待相關測試的應用來支持這種國家制度化的完整性。講座還探討了在司法和仲裁環境中處理偏頗的觀感可能出現的異同;以及更嚴格的披露要求是加強還是削弱了兩個系統整體制度的完整性。

CJ cocktail
 

演講結束之後,聽眾向講者提問,與講者積極互動。提問環節由獨立仲裁員嘉柏倫先生 (Mr KAPLAN Neil CBE QC SBS) 主持。隨後,城大法律學院客席教授、法學碩士(仲裁及爭議解決學)課程主任陶榮博士向講者致謝,感謝他為大家帶來一場精彩而富有啟發性的講座。最後,方達律師事務所合夥人陳振中先生歡迎與會者參加酒會。